Book binding

ABSTRACT

A bookbinding machine in accordance with the invention comprises a device for applying a cover to a book back, a device for preparing the back by cutting or abrading, and a device for applying adhesive to the prepared book back. These three devices are arranged in a straight line and are so disposed that a book commences its outwardly travel from the cover-applying device passes over the adhesive-applying device which is rendered inoperative. The book returns from the preparing device and over the operative adhesive-applying device. The cover is then applied.

United States Patent 1 1 French 1 BOOK BINDING Lionel John BryantRushent French, London, England [75] Inventor:

[73] Assignee: The Sulby Engineering Deveiopment Company Limited,London, England 221 Filed: Feb. 25, 1911 21 Appl. No.: 118,672

[52] 0.8. CI. ..ll/l AD, 118/72,118/241 [51] Int. Cl ..B42c 19/00 [58]Field of Search ..11/1 R,1 AD; 118/72, 241-243 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS Hughes ..118/241 x FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONSGermany ..l1/1 AD 1 May 8, 1973 926,199 5/l963 Great Britain v.l l/l Al)1,205,437 8/1959 France v ..1 111 Al) 670,296 10/1964 ltaly 1 1/1 Al)Primary Examinerl.awrence Charles Attorney-Greene & Durr [57] ABSTRACT Abookbinding machine in accordance with the invention comprises a devicefor applying a cover to a book back, a device for preparing the back bycutting or abrading, and a device for applying adhesive to the preparedbook back. These three devices are arranged in a straight line and areso disposed that a book commences its outwardly travel from thecover-applying device passes over the adhesive-applying device which isrendered inoperative. The book returns from the preparing device andover the operative adhesive-applying device. The cover is then applied.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED 81973 SHEET 1 OF 4 INVENT'OR LJ. 8.A. FIFE/V414 9 W flTTOR/VEY PATENTEU 8 73 SHEET 2 BF 4 IN VE NTOR LJ 8.R Fnzwcr/ ATToR/WE Y PATENTED 75 SHEU 3 BF 4 IN VENTOR L J B R FRENCHPATENTED 81973 SHEET 4 BF 4 INVENTOI? 1.. J B. I? F/mvch' W f M ATTORNEYBOOK BINDING This invention is concerned with bookbinding.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a low cost machine for theproduction of what are known in the bookbinding industry as perfect oradhesive bound books and which is capable of producing books equal inquality and in a single process identical in every way with thoseproduced on more expensive machines. The machine of the invention is,moreover, specially designed so that it can be operated by a singleperson.

The books so produced are bound by an adhesive only the same adhesivenormally also serving to attach the cover which may be of paper board orplastic, or a lining of paper cloth or plastic. These books are distinctfrom those in which the binding is initially started by sewing eitherthe individual sections or the entire book with thread or by staples orwire stitches. The machine of this invention can in fact also be used toapply a cover or lining to books which have been previously wirestitched or thread sewn.

According to the present invention there is provided a bookbindingmachine including a clamp to receive the book to be bound, an operator'sstation at which the operator can insert a cover onto a device forapplying the cover to the book, means for preparing the book back byabrading or cutting, means for applying adhesive to the prepared bookback and means for moving the clamp in a rectilinear path from theoperators station to the same means and for returning the book alongsaid path to the operator's station for the application of the cover.

In this specification the word book is used to designate the collatedassemblage of pages without the cover.

The invention will now be described by way of example and with referenceto the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine in accordance with aparticular embodiment of the invention. The operators position isimmediately in front of the hinged door at a right hand of the machineand that the main frame would be of a height slightly below the waist ofan average woman;

F IG. 2 is a partially sectioned front view of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the machine with the guard cowls removed;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the machine showing the book carrying clamp andthe cover applying means.

Referring initially to FIG. 1 a frame 1 is suitably constructed fromangle iron or other sectioned material. A panel 2 encloses the front ofthe machine and a hinged door 3 permits easy access to the machine. Apanel 4 for the end of the machine carries a number of switches and pushbuttons for the machine operation. Cowls 5 and 6 cover the top of themachine. Angle iron uprights 7 (see FIG. 2) are bolted or welded to themain frame I. Shafts 8 are suspended from the top of the frame 1 onscrewed studs 9 to allow easy adjustment for height. A straightrectangular bar 10 mounted on brackets 11 and 12 extends across themachine. A bar 13 is similar to 10 but shorter, and is also mounted onthe bracket ll. A stationary shaft 14 has revolvably mounted on it atriple pulley l5 belt driven by a motor 16 which is mounted on a bracket17 which pivots on one of the shafts 8 thus providing continuous belttension between the motor 16 and the triple pulley 15. A pulley 18 isdriven by a belt from the triple pulley l5 and revolves freely on theshaft 19. A clutch 20 is operated by a solenoid 21 and connects thepulley 18 to drive the shaft 19 when the solenoid 21 is not energized.When solenoid 21 is energized the clutch is disengaged. The shaft 19carries a chain sprocket at the end which drives a chain 22 this chainrunning round a free running idler sprocket at the other end of thechain. The chain 22 has an extended pin which has a trunnion blockrunning in a slot 24 machined in the clamp body 25. The clamp body 25 issupported on four rollers 26 which run on the straight rectangular bar10. A clamping plate 27 is carried on two studs one of which 28 has apivotted end section which is lightly spring loaded to retain it in thestraight position. The two studs carrying the clamping plate 27 aresecured to a connecting bar 29 which has a guide stud 30 sliding in asocket attached to 25 a compression spring exerting force to draw theclamping plate 27 against the clamp body 25 to hold securely the book 31which may be of any thickness within the maximum capacity of the clamp.A cover nipping unit 32 is mounted on a strong pivotted link 33 andmaintained in position by a rod 34 so that the cover nipping unit 32 canbe raised or lowered while remaining in a level position. Two nippingjaws 35 and 36 are slidably mounted on the plate of the cover nippingunit. The nipping jaws 35 and 36 are operated through a system of bellcranks 37 and draw rods 38 and 39 but to provide easy adjustment of thenipping jaw 36 the draw rod 39 is connected to a further draw rod 40 bya clamping device 41 which can be easily and rapidly freed andtightened. Two rods 42 raises the nipping unit 32 when required. Acamshaft 43 has following levers which operate the rods 38 and 42 andthe rods 44 and 45. The camshaft 43 is driven from a motor gear unit 46and controlled by micro switches 47 in conjunction with push buttonsmounted on the panel 4. The rod 44 when actuated by the camshaftoperates the lever 48 which in turn operates the rod 49 to open theclamp when the clamp is in the position shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Therod 45 when actuated by the camshaft operates the lever 50 whichoperates a rod 51 so that it is urged forward to locate the clamp inexact position by a locating plunger 52 engaging in the locating plate53 which is attached to the clamp body 25 to ensure that the clampalways locates in the same position to obtain exact register with acover for the book which will be laying on the nipping unit top plate ina predetermined position. The cams are all of simple outlines requiringonly turning when being machined with straight profiles which can besawn or milled without elaborate cam cutting equipment. The various rodsare provided with rod ends allowing adjustment of their effectivelength. With the camshaft in the normal static position the clamp islocated and fullyopen to receive a book and the two nipping jaws open totheir full movement. Pressure of one of the operating buttons on thepanel 4 closes a relay which starts the motor 46 causing the camshaft torevolve until the circuit to the relay is opened by one of the microswitches 47 causing the camshaft to stop. During this partial revolutionthe clamp is first closed, then the nipping unit lowered, the locatingplunger 52 withdrawn and the nipping unit lowered to leave the back ofthe book clear. A second pressure on the operating button causes furtherrevolution of the camshaft which first locates the clamp exactly, thenraises the nipping unit to its original position momentarily closes thetwo nipping jaws to their fully closed position and finally opens theclamp so that the book may be removed. As it is sometimes desirable toincrease the thickness of the glue film on the back of the book a cam isprovided which through the rod 54 lifts the nipping unit momentarilyjust before the clamp closes thus raising the book by an amountdetermined by the length of the rod 54 which is adjusted to give theglue film desired. To allow easy adjustment for book thickness a largehandwheel 41' is provided on the clamping device 41, and to allow thenipping jaws to be adjusted to the thickness of the book, an additionalpress button closes another relay which causes the camshaft to revolveand stop by a second micro switch so that the nipping unit is raised toits high position and the nipping jaws are in their closed position; theprocedure therefore, to set the cover nipping unit for book thickness,is to loosen the-clamping device 41 and draw by hand the front nippingjaw 36 to its fully open position, place a book in the open clamp andpress the cover unit set button which closes the clamp, raises the covernipping unit to its highest position and moves the nipping jaws to theirclosed position before stopping; the 'outer nipping jaw 36 is thenpressed hard against the book and the clamping device 41 tightened; thefirst push button is then pressed which opens the nipping jaws; lowersthe nipping unit and opens the clamp. A further pressure of this buttoncauses the clamp to close and the nipping unit to drop leaving the bookin correct position in the clamp.

A centrifugal extractor 55 driven by a motor 56 is so mounted on one ofthe shafts 8 as to be free to swing thereon. The shaft of the motor 56carries between the extractor casing and the motor body a pulley 57which drives through'a belt 58 the shaft 59 of the book back abrader 60which is also mounted on the shaft 8 being pivotal thereon. Theextractor 55 and abrader are held together by the driving belt and keptthe correct distance apart for belt tension by a bolt (not shown)screwed and locknutted into the abrader with its head against theextractor housing, the weight of the extractor and abrader tend to allowthem both to swing together round the shaft 8 but are prevented fromdoing so by the bar 61 which is located by the screw 62 and thusrotation of the screw 62 causes the extractor and abrader to rotate onthe shaft 8 and so raise or. lower the abrader vertically. The abrasiveband 63 is mounted on a suitable cylinder which has a rubber sleeveinterposed between the cylinder and the abrasive band; a cap fittingover the cylinder can be tightened by a nut on the end of the abradershaft which causes the rubber sleeve to be compressed endwise and swellin diameter thus gripping the abrasive band. Toothed cutting devices maybe substituted for the cylinder to provide different finishes asrequired by different grades or types of paper. The cylinder is enclosedby a casing which at the bottom has an outlet which can be connected bya tube 64 to the inlet of the extractor so that the paper dust can bedrawn off and deposited in a suitable filter bag 65. The abrader has afixed shear edge 66 to support the book as it is being roughened or cutand by setting the abrader at an angle rotation thereof imparts a forceto the book back which holds it against the edge.

When the machine is in service the motor 16 is running continuously todrive the pulley l8 (and the glue unit to be described later). Switchingthe machine on closes a relay which energizes the solenoid 21 and drawsthe dog clutch 20 out of engagement, a third push button on the panel 4opens the relay to release the solenoid and allow the sliding part ofthe dog clutch under the action of the spring to engage with the dog onthe pulley 18, and thus transmit the drive to the shaft 19 and drive thechain 22 which through the extended pin on the chain and the trunnionblock in the slot in the clamp draws the clamp 25 along the machine andthen back to its original position where it is stopped by a plate 67operating a micro switch 670 which closes the relay to withdraw the dogclutch out of engagement. It will be understood that a book in the clampis carried over the abrader, the back of the book being cut and/orroughened, this being repeated as the book returns; the degree ofroughening or cutting is adjusted by the screw 62 which raises theabrader to increase the roughening or cutting or lowers it to reduce.

A glue tank 68 (FIGS. 2 & 3) is held by screws on a heater plate 69,means being provided on the heater plate for keeping it at a controlledtemperature by suitable electrical elements and a thermostat; inaddition to the thermostat a heat adjuster is provided easily accessiblefrom the inspection door in the front panel of the machine. The heaterplate 69 pivots on one of the shafts 8 and can be raised or lowered bythe solenoid 70 acting through the lever 71. In order to avoid foulingthe abrader the glue unit is lowered while the book is passing over it.The glue unit is raised on the clamps return run. The micro switch 72energizes a relay to pass current to the solenoid 70 and micro switch 73breaks the circuit after the book has passed the glueing unit. The glueunit has two rollers 69' revolving in opposite directions being gearedtogether, the shaft 74 being belt driven from the triple pulley 15. Theshaft 74 runs in a self aligning bearing mounted on the main frame 1 ofthe machine and another bearing mounted on 'the heater plate 69. Thisallows for the small movement caused to the shaft when the glue unit israised and lowered. There is an advantage in heating the glue unit froma separate heater plate because it allows the glue tank to be removedfor cleaning without the complications of electrical connections andmaking complete replacement of the glue unit comparatively inexpensive.The glue unit has scrapers for each roller adjusted by screws to permitaccurate control of glue metering.

All micro switches are preferably slidably mounted to allow easyadjustment to secure accurate timing.

Although micro switches are a convenient and inexpensive method ofcontrol, all the operative movements of the machine can be equallyperformed by straight mechanical or hydraulic, or pneumatic operation.If desired the nipping operation can be performed by pedals connected tothe camshaft in place of powerdrive.

It will be understood that all control of the machine and feeding thebook and cover before binding and removing the finished book is allperformed without the need for the operator to move and in fact theoperator can run the machine sitting down.

From the design it will be seen that all the component parts are easilyadjustable so that a considerable degree of tolerance can be accepted onthe manufacture. Further the design is such that the larger bulk of themachining required is turning or drilling which are the least costly ofengineering processes.

For all normal size books the stud of the clamp at the left as facingthe machine is used for location of the hook. To locate the cover twolays 75 are attached to the end of the nipping unit. Magnets can be usedfor locating the covers on the foredge when more than one book of thesame size is to be processed.

The ease and speed of setting up the machine makes it quite economicalto use it for making one book but at the same time runs of severalhundred or more would not take undue time.

To make one book the cover must be marked on the inside to indicatewhere the cover will fold over the front corner of back; the operatorthen frees off the handwheel on the clamping device 41 and draws theouter nipping jaw 36 outwards to its full extent. The book is thenjogged up on back and head and inserted in the open book clamp with thehead against the clamp stud and the back resting on the top plate of thenipping unit. Pressure of the setting button then causes the nippingunit to rise to its high position and the nipping jaws close in to fullnip; the operator then pushes the outer nipping jaw in hard against thebook and locks up the handwheel, again pressing the nipping button opensthe nipping jaw and lowers the nipping unit. The cover is then placed onthe nipping unit and lined up to its correct position in relation to thebook. The clamp cycling button is then pressed and the clamp carryingthe book moves along the track and over the abrader where the back ofthe book is cut or roughened and while the clamp is just past theabrader the glue unit is raised so that the book is given a coat ofadhesive before reaching its original position and stopping. The nippingunit push button is again pressed causing the nipping unit to risepressing the cover against the glued back of the book and the nippingjaws to close in folding the cover sharply round the back corners of thebook before opening again as the book clamp opens to allow the book tobe removed sideways as the clamp stud 28 pivots out of the way. It willbe appreciated that the whole of these operations are carried out in afew seconds, and considerably faster than would be possible by hand evenif the book were bound first and hand methods used for applying thecover.

When a run of books is to be processed, the cover position on thenipping unit is located by lays such as magnets on the nipping jaws andthe covers are placed in position immediately after the clamp cyclingbutton has been pressed.

Sewn or wire stitched books can be covered faster and to a higherstandard than by hand, or a lining can be applied instead of a papercover.

The feature which brings the book clamp back to the feeding station forcompletion by attaching and folding over the cover makes for a veryshort machine so that all adjustments can be made without the operatorhaving to move from the operating position.

lclaim: l. A bookbmdmg machine including a clamp to receive the book tobe bound, an elongate rectilinear guide for said clamp, means on saidclamp for guiding the clamp along said rectilinear guides, means at afirst end of said guide for opening the clamp to permit insertion of thebook to be bound and additional means at said first end for applying acover to the book, preparing means at the other end of said guide forabrading or cutting the back of said book, means at an intermediateposition on said guide for applying adhesive to the prepared book back,means for moving the clamp in a rectilinear path along said guide fromthe first end to said preparing means and for returning the clamp alongsaid path to the first end of said guide for applying the cover, andmeans for moving the adhesive applying means to an inoperative positionwhen the clamp passes it on its way to the preparing means and to anoperative position during the return trip of said clamp.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the preparing means include arotatable abrader and a locating element for the book, the abrader beingso disposed that rotation thereof urges the book against the locatingelement.

3. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the preparing means and theadhesive-applying means are each carried by a pivotally secured support.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein means are provided forlocating the clamp in correct register with the device said additionalmeans for applying the cover.

5. A machine according to claim 1, comprising means for preciselysetting the means for applying the cover relatively to the book beforethe book commences the outward path.

6. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the device for applying thecover comprises a pair of nipping jaws driven through appropriatelinkages by a cam-shaft and wherein one of the jaws can be loosened fromits linkage by means readily accessible to an operator at the front endof said guide whereby the machine can be set for the required bookthickness.

7. A machine according to claim 6 comprising means on the said devicefor raising and lowering the jaws whereby the book can be set in theclamp to receive the desired thickness of glue.

1. A bookbinding machine including a clamp to receive the book to bebound, an elongate rectilinear guide for said clamp, means on said clampfor guiding the clamp along said rectilinear guides, means at a firstend of said guide for opening the clamp to permit insertion of the bookto be bound and additional means at said first end for applying a coverto the book, preparing means at the other end of said guide for abradingor cutting the back of said book, means at an intermediate position onsaid guide for applying adhesive to the prepared book back, means formoving the clamp in a rectilinear path along said guide from the firstend to said preparing means and for returning the clamp along said pathto the first end of said guide for applying the cover, and means formoving the adhesive applying means to an inoperative position when theclamp passes it on its way to the preparing means and to an operativeposition during the return trip of said clamp.
 2. A machine according toclaim 1 wherein the preparing means include a rotatable abrader and alocating element for the book, the abrader being so disposed thatrotation thereof urges the book against the locating element.
 3. Amachine according to claim 1 wherein the preparing means and theadhesive-applying means are each carried by a pivotally secured support.4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein means are provided forlocating the clamp in correct register with the device said additionalmeans for applying the cover.
 5. A machine according to claim 1,comprising means for precisely setting the means for applying the coverrelatively to the book before the book commences the outward path.
 6. Amachine according to claim 1 wherein the device for applying the covercomprises a pair of nipping jaws driven through appropriate linkages bya cam-shaft and wherein one of the jaws can be loosened from its linkageby means readily accessible to an operator at the Front end of saidguide whereby the machine can be set for the required book thickness. 7.A machine according to claim 6 comprising means on the said device forraising and lowering the jaws whereby the book can be set in the clampto receive the desired thickness of glue.